Therapeutic Yoga Poses are designed to help you tone, strengthen and relax at the same time.  The following poses you can practice right in your living room listening to soft relaxing music.   If you are short on time you can choose to practice the poses for 5 minutes a piece.  If you have more time in the evening after work,  take more time, as much as you need to nourish your body, mind and soul.  The goal is to listen to your body.  If you don’t feel the need to spend more than 5 minutes in one pose, but you feel like you need 20 minutes in another pose, then do just that.  It is your practice, not mine.  It is always your practice.   No one should tell you what you need or don’t need.  I am here to guide and support you in your choices.

 Viparita Karani AKA “Legs Up A Wall”

Let’s start with my favorite, Viparita Karani.  Most people refer to this therapeutic yoga pose as “Legs up the wall”.  The main purpose of this pose is to rest your veins, the hardest working organ in your body.  If you think about it, your veins are pumping blood constantly whether you are standing or sitting.  So getting them up in the air is the best thing you can do.  You can do this with or without a bolster.  If your hamstrings are tight, try and rest your legs against a wall.  And if that’s too much for you, you can drape them over a chair or coffee table.  Just get your legs up in the air.

Goddess Pose with a Yoga Bolster is also very relaxing therapeutic yoga pose and eases your body into a back bend strengthening and toning the spine while opening and gently stretching your chest and arms.  If you have been sitting at a computer all day typing and answering emails or bending over in any way, this pose is like heaven for most people.  Before you lie back on the bolster, try wrapping a blanket snug around your ankles for maximum comfort.  Once you get the blanket around your ankles, allow your knees to fall to the sides and the souls of your feet to come together. Then lie back onto the bolster allowing your arms to rest on the sides with your palms facing upward.  If you are feeling too much discomfort on your neck, place either a rolled up towel under your neck or a pillow under your head.  Adjust your back position as needed.  Then relax and let the pose work its magic.

Modified Goddess Pose

Supported Bridge Pose with a Bolster is another great way to open the belly and chest, tone the spine, but even just as important, this pose requires your hips to be higher than you heart.  Why is this so great?  The blood flows toward your heart massaging it as well as your thyroid helping to nourish a healthy metabolism. 

Supported and Modified Bridge Pose

Seated Forward Bend with a Bolster is one of my favorite therapeutic yoga poses for stretching the neck especially when it’s extra tight.  Having your legs draped over the bolster makes for a more gentle bend.  Try to start with your back straight.  Then take a big inhale and as you exhale, reach forward with your heart and arms.  Take another big inhale and reach your heart forward.  I find there is a lot of comfort when breathing your way into these poses, especially when everything is really tight and stiff.  As you practice, you neck and back will begin to relax.  Your intestines get a gentle massage as you bend forward.  Your spine will start feeling better and your hamstrings will be allowed to just ease into the stretch since your legs will be bent and slightly elevated.

Modified Seated Forward Bend

Shavasana.  It’s what we all come for, that beautiful rest at the end of practicing yoga.  Most likely the most therapeutic yoga pose known to all inspiring yoginis. This pose is about relaxation.  As you lie down and get comfortable, remember to relax your jaw, muscles around your eyes and throat.  Allow your body to get heavy.  With each exhale, scan your body and release any tension you may feel. Shavasana brings everything together: Body, mind and spirit allowing you to absorb the benefits of the yoga poses you just practiced.  It regulates blood pressure and gives you a feeling of peace and calm.  A great way to meditate or prepare for mediation.  You are relaxed, yet awake and aware.  What could be better than that?

Therapeutic Pose Shavasana

 Out With the Old In With the New

First of all, let me say Happy New Year to everyone.    I apologize for not blogging for the last few weeks.  I took a much needed social media sabbatical.  I wanted to take time and clean out my home, simplify, shedding the old, making way for new energy.  Each room, except one which is on track to be given a decluttering spa treatment this weekend, has been sorted with lot’s of love, keeping handmade cherished items close to our hearts and other useful treasures to those we knew could use them, all while listening to Ronan Hardiman’s Lord of the Dance.  And the best part?  We did it as a family.

Freeing Your Mind of Clutter

It has been an especially wonderful year ending as we were able to stay home for the first time in over 10 years, allowing us to comfortably ease into 2012.  I was able to reflect on so many wonderful aspects of  life and am anxious to share some thoughts with you.  2011 was a year of clarity.  Through prayer and meditation I was able to really tap into how I was feeling, the relationship of cause and effect, particularly what I was thinking and feeding my brain, my soul, and how those thoughts transferred into my daily life.  Something that came up for me was all the thoughts I kept having that were no longer serving me.  Once I identified what those thoughts were, and believe me when I say it’s an ongoing process, I was able to take it a step further with people, places and things.  And with great love and appreciation, I let go of several relationships, stopped going to certain places and stopped buying and doing certain “things”, things that no longer served my highest good.  Life’s path began to clear.

Redefining the Meaning of Wealth

And here is what the clearing gave me.  A new definition of wealth.  New meaningful friendships.  Peace of mind.  Space to read, write, practice yoga, work out, meditate and spend luxurious hours playing monopoly with my son instead of watching so much TV, cuddling…lot’s of cuddling.  Sharing my love with family and friends.  That is my new definition of wealth.  Writing with the intention of invoking love and empowerment, and uplifting those who are kind enough to take a few moments to read my words.  Immersing myself in silence, nature, reading, music, and art that feels good to me…is my new definition of wealth.

Letting people know they are worth knowing.  That, too, is my new definition of wealth.  I thought I had always expressed this, but it hadn’t been shared quite as wonderfully as a Christmas card that was recently given to me with these beautiful words written just for me:

“Donna,

Each friend represents a world in us, a world of possibility not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.  Thank you for the gift of your friendship.  May your colors shine brightly.  Love always, CB.”

Share the Wealth by Sharing Love

Find out what wealth means to Longevity Warehouse blogger and raw foods health guru David “Avocado” Wolfe.  A fascinating look at what wealth means to one of the worlds most loved raw foods expert!

What is Your Definition of Wealth?

This is a personal story about identifying experiences that lead to self-sabotage.  I have been soul searching for for many years.  I love soul searching because the process opens my heart in so many different ways.  I am able to identify past hurts, let them go, and embrace the newness of shedding yet another layer of the emotional onion.

I was talking with a good friend a while back about my quest to identify what is holding me back from the kind of success I would like to experience.  I explained to her that I had always been very successful in my work.  I had always worked hard to learn and master the art of moving up the ladder of success.  But there is something, I explained, that is holding me back.  I always got to certain point where I was doing really well and then I would back off or just stop.  I couldn’t figure out why.  If I was doing so well, why in the world wouldn’t I climb higher?  I love climbing higher, I told her.  And she asked me if it was always like that for me or did I have some experience early on, as in my childhood, where I quit something I really loved.

As soon as she asked that question, I knew the answer.  So I told her the story.  I was just 14 years old and been dedicated to developing my gymnastic skills for about 5 years.  My father bought me a balance beam when I was young and I practiced handstands every single day.  I loved my beam.  My family moved to California where my parents put me in a gymnastics club so I could harness my skills and compete.  All was well for quite some time until one day my coach asked me to come in his office to talk about my talent.  He had a couch in his office that sat across from his desk.  He locked the door behind us.

I sat on the couch very nervous and he sat behind his desk.  I knew instinctively something was wrong because he had never invited me to his office before.  As he sat there talking to me about how much I had grown and how pretty I was becoming, I cringed and could not really hear a word after that.  I noticed he was shuffling behind his desk.  I was scared.  I wasn’t quite sure of what, but I knew this was not normal behavior.  I got up and walked quickly over to the door, explaining that I had to go because my mother was waiting for me.  The door was locked and I could not open it.

He got up and was completely nude from the waste down.  Needless to say, I was freaked out, ready to cry.  He quickly put some shorts on explaining that he was just sweaty and needed to change.  He opened the door for me and I rode my bike 5 miles home that day and ran right into my mothers arms hysterical.  Naturally, she was fuming.  This was 1979-1980 and there was not as much awareness about sexual abuse back then.  My mother decided not to tell my father because she was afraid that my father would go right down to the gym and kill my coach.   So my mother went down and had a few choice words with the coach.

None of this ever got out.  The next day the elite coach invited me to join his team.  He said I was ready.  And since all I cared about was gymnastics, I joined.  My mother came to all of my practices and watched my every move.  But I was unsettled.  I couldn’t focus.  Here I was being groomed to be an elite gymnast and I was frozen, unable to perform.  It was torture.  And although my new coach tried to encourage me and push me to new levels, I couldn’t, and decided it was time to quit.

For many years I worked very hard to succeed only to sabotage myself right before I reached the top.  I would just beat myself up all over the place wondering why I couldn’t move past a certain point.  As I told my friend this story, she was able to help me identify why I had been sabotaging myself.  Since then I have been able to let it go and break through the glass ceiling.  I still get nervous at the break point, but know what it is and I let it go and allow myself to move forward knowing that one experience need no longer hold me back.

*Thank you Rachel for helping me move forward in my life so that I am able to help others do the same.*

Procrastination is…

It is the root of all…well, opportunities lost.  It is the anti-growth, the thief of dreams.  The verb procrastinate means to put off doing something, especially out habitual laziness or carelessness.  Call it whatever you want, delay, postpone, defer, dillydally….I”M BUSY!  But your probably not.  If you are not doing the things that you do not want to do, that if you just did, would keep you from procrastinating and lift you right into production, then your energy doesn’t feel so great.  You may be tired sluggish, carrying too much weight, moody or unhappy.  When you feel productive, you are happy.  Why are you happy?  Because there is nothing lingering over your shoulder that is keeping you down and… “busy”.  You know what it feels like when you have a productive day.  It feels good.  Your energy feels good.  It makes no difference whether you did the laundry, made those dreaded calls or pushed play and worked out.   After you finish, you get a lift, a sort of relief.  The burden is no longer there, at least for now.  It’s all good.

The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

I am currently reading for the third time, “The Four Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss.  I keep a copy of the book at home and the audio version in my car at all times.  When I first read this book, I was tired and exhausted all the time.  I was not living the kind of life I wanted to live.  Frustrated that every day seemed to go by very fast, me feeling completely busy the entire day and not having, what I consider, satisfying results at the end of the day.  Talk about a Debbie Downer.  Every night I would look into the mirror and think to myself, you really didn’t do anything today.  I definitely called it “busy” though because I was answering emails, checking Facebook, doing a little laundry, talking on the phone with someone who needed me, driving, trying to learn something new on the computer, blah, blah, blah.  I wasn’t feeling happy.

“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.” ~Victor Kiam

I did what Tim Ferriss suggested.  I took an Internet sabbatical for a week.  I have to be honest.  I thought this would not work at all.  How could I not answer a request on Facebook or Twitter?  But I did not.  I only used the Internet if I needed to look up an address or something for my business.  But that’s it.  A little anxiety at first because it occurred to me that I would actually need to write out my life plan for the next couple of weeks, block off time by using the exercises in Tim’s book, and do just exactly what I wrote in my planner.  This made me nervous as I knew deep down I was avoiding what needed to be done to get my business going, but when I put it to work I started feeling very relieved.  In the first week I made 10 new contacts for my business and 4 out of the 10 became clients.  I got up every morning and pushed play.  If you have read any of my other blogs you would know I am a Yoga Coach.  Being fit and balanced is my number one priority.  If I do not get to work out, do a little yoga, and meditate on a regular basis, the seams start to unravel. It is my business.  It is what I help other people do, so nothing can get in the way of what fuels my business or my personal life.  If I am not fit or balanced, I am unable to effectively coach or take care of my family.  So that had to be the number one priority when reading Tim’s book, putting ME first.  And by doing that, I am in the best shape I have been in years.  And I coach my clients to do the same.  Put YOU first.

If You Are Not Putting Yourself First Then There Are More Serious Issues On The Table 

You are the most important component of your own equation of life.  What’s missing?  Ask yourself, “Am I living the life I want to live?  Am I spending my precious time doing what is important to me? To my family?  Do I feel really healthy and happy?  Do I have the stamina to do the things I want to do?  Do I earn the kind of money that will set me free?”  Self inquiry is, without a doubt, a crucial component to living your life exactly the way you intended.  If you are not living your full potential, push play and “Just Do It!”  Your the driver, the composer,  and the writer of your own life.  If you need help, I am always here.  You can call me anytime.

Namaste and Happy Day!

Donna Marguglio

Meditation…the Best Habit

Habit – A thing done often and hence, usually, done easily, practice or custom; a pattern or practice that is acquired and has become so automatic that is is difficult to break. – Webster Dictionary

Why is understanding your habits so important?  Because we are slaves to our habits, that’s why.  We don’t think much about getting up in the morning and brushing our teeth or taking a shower.  Nor do we think much about brushing our teeth at night.  It’s a habit.  It’s a good habit.

But what about biting your nails?  Do you wish you could stop doing that?  What about having that coffee fix every morning that makes your blood sugar go into a spin?  Or how about that laundry that keeps piling up that feels overwhelming? Or that blog you’re supposed to write that you keep avoiding because there are too many other things you have to do? Maybe you start projects and never follow through.  Maybe you’d rather just go sit on the couch and turn on the TV never to write that compelling book you want everyone to read…because a little Law and Order never hurt anyone, right?

How’s that working for you?

Habits that break us keep us from living the life we dream about.  Habits that make us are habits that help us create the life we want, the life most people only dream about.  Habits are what separate the men from the boys, the rich from the poor, the leaders from the followers.  Everyone has good habits and not so good habits.  And since we a slaves to our habits, why not be slaves to good habits?

What are good habits?

• Brushing and flossing your teeth
• Washing your hair
• Wearing clean clothes

Ok. Ok.  We get that.  What are the habits that make you?

• Reading 10 pages of something inspirational each day.
• Exercise and get your heart rate up at least 20 minutes per day.
• Lifts weights 2-3 times per week.
• Plan your meals.  Cook healthy foods that give you energy instead of sapping your energy.
• Tell someone you appreciate them or love them and why.
• Talk to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to today and create a relationship by showing some interest in what they have to say.

It’s these kinds of habits that elevate your energy,  the type of energy that when people are around you they can feel it and they want to jump on board with whatever you are doing.  That comes from creating and practicing good habits.  It does not happen overnight.  It happens over time, with repetition and consistency.

It is a habit.  Do you want to create good habits?  Start with the good habits above. Then go to your library or click below to get Og Mandino’s “The Greatest Secret in the World” and do exactly what he tells you to do. And your life will begin to change.

Namaste,

Donna

Finding Out Your Big Why

What does it mean to find your big why?  You might be thinking, “What the heck is a big why?”  In a nutshell, your big why is the reason you work, the reason you want to work, you want to own your own  business, the reason you want to feel healthy and fit,  the very reason you want to get up in the morning.

But here’s the deal.  Lot’s of people get up in the morning and go to work, right?  They don’t work out.  They choose the fried chicken over the grilled chicken.  You probably know people who get up and absolutely hate going to work. They’re listless; dragging themselves to work everyday, dreading what is to come…every morning, every day.  They can’t wait to come home, plop on the couch, have the chicken and be done with it.  They are exhausted, maybe emotionally, maybe physically or both.  That person may even be you.  Does this life sound familiar?

Living Authentically is Exactly What Draws People to You

The reason so many people live this way is that these are people who do not work from their big why.  When you know your why, you are living in an authentic place called your own personal truth.  You work from your authentic self, the part of you that says, “I am passionate about this!”  You don’t have to scream it at the top of your lungs.  People can feel it when their around you.  It’s that high energy everyone wants to be around.  People seem to jump on board with whatever it is you’re up to because they can feel the energy.  They feel your passion.  And it feels good.

When is the last time you had that energy?  If you’ve lost it, then let’s find it.  I am going to walk you through a process that will take a week or two assuming you are up for the challenge.  It is not difficult.  It does not take a genius.  It takes time.  You must be willing to dig a little.  So here it is:

The 100 List

1.  Get out a piece of paper or make a word document in your computer and label it “My 100 List”.  Keep it on your desktop so it is easily accessible.

2.  Number each item.

3.  Make a list of 100 things you could:

• Have
• Be
• Do
• Want

If the money were already there.

A word of caution.  The first 50 will be kind of easy.  You’ll have to dig a little for the second half.  If you really want to make it interesting, do this with your spouse and children.  You might find you have a lot more in common than you think.

4.  When you are done with your list email it to me or let me know when you are ready for the second step to uncovering your big why: dmarguglio@gmail.com.  It’s exciting to find out your big why.  It’s what makes you tick. So stick with me and let’s do it!

If you need help, you can always reach me at 843-200-7405

It Hurts Too Much When I exercise.  After I exercise, I am so tired and in pain I cannot work out again so I stop altogether.  I’m too old to work out.  I’m too tired to work out.  I hear this often from people who either overdo it every time they work out, or they are just out of shape and haven’t worked out in a while, so it hurts afterward.  That’s normal.  It might help to understand how your body breaks down muscle and how it repairs and replenishes muscles, tendons and the overall effect of your entire body.

Cells that Can Make You or Break You

Your cells are a a highway of information called Cykotines.  Did you know that when you exercise after not exercising for a while, your cells can sense damage?  What they do is brilliant.  They automatically begin to release certain chemicals to ignite inflammation.  Of course, right?  That’s where the pain comes in.  But they do it to set the stage for repair.  The white blood cells clean up the damage leaving you with a clean slate for which to build new muscles.  There are thousands of cells, but two in particular I would like for you to understand.

The Effects of Cykotine 6 AND Cykotine 10

Better Known as C-6 and C-10, these cells break down and repair.  The “C” part of the equation are Cykotines.  Cykotines are proteins that regulate your body.  They are basically messengers responsible for breakdown and decay and growth and replenishment.  The number 6 and 10 refer to interleukin’s that control growth and decay in your muscles.

So why are these cells so important?  How do they affect you?  Keeping it simple, let’s say you exercise.  You exercise hard enough to to break a sweat and feel sore afterward.  The next day you really feel it and so you decide you need a day off.  That feeling is your C-6 cells breaking down your muscle for repair.  C-6 causes inflammation in preparation for a nice replenishing C-10 surge.  But you say, “Oh no, I’m not doing that again!  That hurts.  I need a rest.  I’m sore from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes.”  And so you rest.  The next day you rest some more.  You say you do not want that feeling again.  So what happens is, in the absence of the beautiful C-10 surge which you get when you continue to exercise each day, your body rapidly starts the process of decay.  You feel worse.  Your joints ache, your muscles don’t get a chance to grow, and you find yourself on the couch with no improvement whatsoever. You just want to lay there and relax.  I know.  I’ve been there.  Here’s the problem with that. You just rapidly increased your chances of diabetes, stroke, heart attack and every other form of decay.  You caused the breakdown, but didn’t repair. “When we are sedentary, the devil does indeed find work for idle muscles.  There is a steady slow drip of inflammation, but not enough to turn on C-10.  That explosion of growth only comes with the surge of C-6 you get with exercise.”  Crowley and Lodge, Younger Next Year.

Exercise to Avoid Decay

Let’s say you decided not to choose the couch.  Let’s say you continued your quest to be fit.  And even though you felt soreness you decided to exercise anyway.  Here’s what happens.  C-10 kicks in and begins to replenish your muscles flooding your entire body with boatloads of proteins that make your body stronger, more agile, and give you endurance to boot.  You will be able to do lot’s of things at 80 that you would not be able to do otherwise as a couch potato, like watching your kids grow up!  Sedentary is death.  Slow, miserable death.  If you choose to exercise daily you’ll cut your risk of heart attack by half.  You will be stronger, more alert, and your mortality rate will decrease.  You are able to avoid most of the health related problems associated with aging just by not choosing the couch.  If you’re out there sitting on the couch, having a coke and a cupcake telling yourself you are fine, stop lying to yourself.  You may not die today.  You may not even get diabetes or high blood pressure today.  But if you’re sitting there, having a cigarette or not, it’s coming if it isn’t there already. It may not be today.  It may not be tomorrow, but it will be soon. When is the last time you had a full physical, blood check, hormone check, and all?  For more information on the spectacular gift of your body and how to live your best life, get Younger Next Year.  You won’t be disappointed.

“Inspire means to breathe life into someone else’s dreams.” Author Kevin Hall from his book Aspire.  I thought to myself, how beautiful is that?  While reading his book, I pondered this question; Do I do that?  I mean, that’s what my life dream is all about, to inspire people.  I want to inspire people to get healthy.  I want to inspire people to love themselves enough to dive into the beautiful waters of wellness and swim in that pool forever.  But like any human being, I have down days too.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I had one of those days when I knew I wanted to inspire, but I wasn’t feeling it.  Ever have one of those days? I didn’t even find time to work out myself. Too many things to do.  Too busy to do the one thing that makes me feel like a million bucks.  The one thing that inspires me to do more. Exercise.

I have my own business and part of that business requires me to get on the phone and speak with people who have a desire to live a more healthy, happy, fulfilling life. I had a lot phone calls to make and I was preparing my list of people I wanted to inspire.  I called and called and left message after message to no avail.  I had been doing that for days and had a few responses and even some good conversations, but on this particular day I felt depleted.  I thought to myself, how am I ever going to reach people?  I wanted to quit and just walk away from my desk and even prepared to do just that…and then my phone rang.

Inspiration Can Show Up When You Least Expect It

It was a man I had been trying to reach all week.  A lovely man who said he was so sorry he didn’t get my phone message until now.  He had been out of town with his family.  When we began talking I asked him how he felt about health and fitness and said he wanted to be healthy, but was having some problems in that area.  I asked him to share with me what he meant by having problems in that area?  He said he had been in a horrible accident which resulted in the amputation of one of his legs and that he was in a lot of pain a lot of the time.  He said he had gained a tremendous amount of weight because of this problem and was seeing a doctor for nutritional advice and that he had seen many doctors for his weight problem.  When I asked if he still tried to work his upper body, he said he could not do that.  When I asked why, he told me that he was born with no collar bones and had been instructed by his doctors not to work his upper body as he could injure himself.  This man was an athlete, thin frame, all muscle and 98 lbs in his prime.  Now he stands 5’2 at 240lbs.  Wow, and I thought I was having an off day.  Puts things into perspective.  A little hot flash pales in comparison.

He continued on with his story and told me that his life wasn’t always this way.  He did things when he was young.  Despite his doctor’s orders to stay away from activity, he decided to play football and baseball.  And loved it!  He worked full time for many years and was the breadwinner he thought he should be. But after his accident and then losing his job, he found himself wondering what he was going to do.  So I asked him.  “What do you want to do?”  He said quite simply, “I want to be able to contribute to my family.  My wife works a full time job and goes to school.  We have two daughters. I can’t do much of anything right now.  But I’m going to keep trying.  I’m not giving up.”  As I sat there listening while he shared his aspiration to contribute and to be a role model to his girls, I was and still am moved by his determination.  I realized as he was speaking, he was inspiring me.  He was breathing life into my own dream, my dream to inspire people.  I realize this guy’s got some challenges ahead, but he’s got a story to tell.  He is an inspiration.  He has inspired me, if only for today, to keep going.  Don’t give up.  When I am having a bad hair day or I’ve gained a little weight, when I can’t do those last few push ups, I am going to remember that at least I can do push ups!  I can run and jump and I have two solid legs to stand on.   He has inspired me, like so many beautiful people in my life, to dive right back in that water of wellness and swim for my life.  No excuses.

Who Inspires You?

Wisdom to Wellness

Healing Your Emotional Sufferings so the Physical Healing Can Follow.

When you ask people to identify the most important aspect of their life, what do they say? You guessed it: their health and the health of their loved ones.

This book reflects an original concept in the connection between mind, body and soul wellness. The Modus Operandi (MO) Technique becomes the model for people to look compassionately inside themselves and take responsibility for their illnesses.

As a Registered Nurse, I cared for patients in the hospital for several years but had always wondered about the underlying causes of disease. After a difficult divorce, I hit bottom. On my way back up, I discovered a philosophy that transformed my life and launched a career teaching alternative methods of healing.

In our lives, we face traumas that often bruise and hurt us. They bruise us not only on bodily levels but also on emotional and mental levels. But unless we are able to release the energetic imprints of such traumas, they remain within our mind/body-based energy field.  The energetic imprints that linger in our bodies and minds can cause discomfort and eventually disease.

Emotional Trauma Can Cause Disease

We begin life with the world presenting itself to us as it is.

Our parents, teachers, and family hypnotize us to construe the world into what we hear and see and take as our truth. In effect, this labels the world for us. Over time, we attach names and give voice to the beings and events in our lives. Before long, our labels confine us. They create patterns that define us. We cannot read the world in any other language or hear the other things the world might say to us.

This way of “reading” the world becomes our MO, our modus operandi. It’s how each of us operates in the world.

Our task, therefore, is to break the hypnotic spell created by our programming. When we do, we can hear, see, and think in a way that speaks our innate truth. We let the world speak to us in new voices. We then write down all its possible meanings in a new book of our existence.

Disease is a way our spirit talks directly to us! The disease is bringing a message—a message that we have to be open to discover in order to heal. When we do discover that message, our souls and spirits are elated.

And when we “get” our soul’s message, what follows? Self-empowerment and healing.

My studies and writing for the past two decades delve into the soul discoveries that illnesses present. These discoveries are the “gems of truth” that allow healing to take place on multiple levels—including the emotional level.

Allowing Emotional Healing to Take Place

Yes, I’m saying these soul discoveries reveal the emotional component of why and how an illness is manifested. Once we know that, we can accept our wounds with compassion. We can also show compassion to the unconscious patterns that still prop us up. Then through our super conscious, we can then delete those patterns that keep the wounds from healing. We can delete and transform those patterns with the MO Technique-a combination of chakra balancing, releasing the block wall of fear with the infinity sign and guided imagery to reprogram the subconscious, super conscious and conscious mind.

And here’s the bonus. When we allow ourselves to open to our soul discoveries, we can become our true selves. We can live in our true nature . . . our whole nature . . . our perfect nature.

Maureen Minnehan Jones is the author of Wisdom to Wellness just released by

O-Books on March 25^th. She loves being a Registered Nurse, and is delighted to be a Guided Imagery Practitioner and the creator of the powerful MO Technique.

www.MaureenMinnehanJones.com

MMJ@MaureenMinnehanJones.com

209-845-8141

“The back represents our support system.  Problems with the back usually mean we feel we are not being supported.  Too often we think we are only supported by our job or by our family or spouses.  In reality we are totally supported by the universe, by Life itself.” – Louise Hay

Healing Back Pain Through Yoga,  Exercise and Diet

If you are suffering from general back pain you’ve come to the right page.  For years I was such a tough athlete.  A gymnast and a swimmer for years.  And then three rear- enders later I lived incessantly with muscles spasms, aches and pain for many years thereafter.  I was a gymaholic.  I guess there are worst things to be.  But I still had that nagging pain.  I went to doctors, chiropractors, had scans, x-rays, the works.  No one really found much of anything except that my hips are uneven and when they get out of whack, it causes pain on one side or the other.  Simple adjustment and it goes away.  As I get older though, I have noticed the nag increase.  I have taken it upon myself, as I do not want to live in pain the rest of my life, to incorporate some healthy habits that have changed the course of this nagging pain.  And guess what?  When I follow them, the pain dissipates.  I hardly feel it anymore, if at all.  Just sharing what works for me.  Take it or leave it. Here they are:

Yoga is Fantastic for Healing Back Pain

When I first started my yoga teacher training, I had serious trouble with my back.  I didn’t even know whether I was going to make it through the series because I had such a hard time sitting.  I was in absolute agony the first few weeks begging for relief.  But here’s what happened.  I learned so many beautiful poses.  Poses that helped me regain my flexibility I thought I had lost.  Poses that stretched my limbs and tendons.  Poses that strengthened my legs, core, back and arms, like Plank Pose and Side Plank.  Poses that soothed not only my back, but my soul.  Child’s Pose, Pelvic Tilts, Cobra Pose, Seated Twists as well as poses using bolsters, blocks and straps to support my body. I also made friends with people who were much further along the healing path and who helped me understand some of the emotional causes for back pain as well.  Mine was all lower back pain.  After taking the suggestion of one of my new found friends, I read Louise Hayes, You Can Heal Your Life.  I realized my back pain had a lot to do with my financial collapse at the time as well as years and years of never feeling like there was enough money to support me. It is so difficult to function in daily life when you are in pain.  It is difficult to be quiet or to be peaceful when your body is screaming at you for relief.  Practicing yoga consistently and educating yourself on the causes of back pain keeps you out of back pain trouble.  When I don’t practice consistently, it creeps back and definitely lets me know I need to stay on top of things and get back in the groove.

Yoga Makes You Aware of What you Put in Your Body

Yoga and meditation, in a nutshell, is about becoming aware.  I used to eat red meat almost every day with, I might add, a mighty glass or two of red wine to wash it down.  In fact, I used to eat a lot of inflammatory foods, but thanks to my practice I no longer crave those types of foods and do not eat them. I no longer mindlessly put junk into my body. And what do you think happened when I stopped eating foods that made my body hurt?  Less inflammation in my body, giving it the ability to recover from a challenging workout.  Soda, sugar, dairy products, fried food and processed food all contribute to inflammatory conditions.  Inflammation makes your body hurt.  So check in with yourself and clean it up.  No one wants to live in pain.  So the next time you’re ready to pick up a bag of chips, burn it (just kidding…trash it) and pick up some almonds, fruit or crunchy veggies instead.  Make it your business to change your unhealthy eating habits.  If you are one of those people who says, “Oh, one bag won’t hurt.”  Think again.  Chips cause decay and pain.  Change your habits and your body will thank you over and over again for the rest of your life.  If you don’t believe me, read Younger Next Year by Crowley and Lodge.  You won’t be disappointed. You will begin to feel better before you know it.  Add another component and you will feel better yet.  You see, it’s not just about the food.  The food is only one factor.  Exercise is another key ingredient to healing back pain.

Strengthen Your Back and Get Rid of the Fat

Extra weight is either adding to your back pain or is the root cause of the pain.  In fact, obesity is the leading cause of back pain today.  All that extra weight around your middle causes strain on your back, your vital organs and your joints.  It has the ability to throw off your balance making it hard to function properly.  If you’re one of those people who says, “Well, I only have a little bit.”  You’re not so different.  Get it off.  You have got to start burning the fat off with exercise and getting your heart rate up for at least twenty minutes per day.  Yes, that means breathing hard and a little soreness if your not used to working out.  Start and don’t stop.  Don’t stop. Ever.  If you start and then stop, you will only accelerate the decay process already going on in your body like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and a host of other undesirables. If you keep going each day, your cells will begin to replenish and rebuild.  You may not feel great tomorrow or even next week.  But in 2-4 weeks you will feel significantly better. Just 30-60 minutes per day folks, 6 times per week.  Find something you like and give it all you’ve got.  Shed that unwanted, drag me down, fat that has your heart screaming “Get off me or I’m gonna shut down!”  And be done with it for life. 

Maintenance and Preventative Care for Your Back

Good chiropractic care is underrated.  I have found that is is crucial to maintaining good back health.  Notice I didn’t say mediocre chiropractic care.  You need to go to someone who understands your body and your issues.  Someone who will spend the time working on adjustments that are the right adjustments for you and does not give up until he/she has it figured out.  Period.  My chiropractor is awesome.  He rolls me into the adjustment. Never pushes too hard and never does anything that would make the inflammation worse. I get a wonderful massage while I’m there just for the places that are causing me pain.  I am treated well and their concern for my well-being is present every time I visit. Definitely not a “wham bam thank you ma’am” kind of place where you hurdled in like cattle on speed and out in 5 minutes. And I’ll say the same thing about massage therapists.  Sometimes you’ve got to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince or princess.  I have one in my area I would refer anyone to.  He is intuitive and seems to know exactly what I need every time I visit.  All I have to do is tell them where it hurts.  He gets it.  If you want to have an exceptional massage you have got to be willing to communicate.  Don’t be shy.  They are there to help you, but if they don’t know what is bothering you, their job then becomes a guessing game.  Who wants that?  You pay $70-100 bucks to let them guess? “Oh, surprise me.  Let’s see if you get it right.”  No!  Tell them.  Give them as much information as you can.  Let them do their thing and give yourself a delicious treat.

If you live in the Charleston area

Massage:  Jimmy Saverance

If you would like to add any positive feedback or life changing habit that has helped relieve your back pain or you would like to mention your favorite chiropractor or massage therapist, wherever you live, feel free to share in the comment box below.